Opinions Requested on Rustoleum EPOXYShield Garage Floor Coating

[Der Bugmeister]

I wasn't originally planning on doing much with the floor just yet, but now I'm having second thoughts...after all this work, might as well go all the way!

I'm considering using the Rustoleum 2 part epoxy coating and am interested in hearing anyone's experiences (good or bad) with this product.

The other one I was looking at was Home Depot's Behr product, but I saw a couple posts here expressing a lot of displeasure with that stuff.

So...have you used it? Were you happy with it? What kind of coverage did you get out of one kit?

 

[jarhead]

I wasn't originally planning on doing much with the floor just yet, but now I'm having second thoughts...after all this work, might as well go all the way!

I'm considering using the Rustoleum 2 part epoxy coating and am interested in hearing anyone's experiences (good or bad) with this product.

The other one I was looking at was Home Depot's Behr product, but I saw a couple posts here expressing a lot of displeasure with that stuff.

So...have you used it? Were you happy with it? What kind of coverage did you get out of one kit?

I would like to know about the rustoleum as well.

 

[Tomcat]

I wasn't originally planning on doing much with the floor just yet, but now I'm having second thoughts...after all this work, might as well go all the way!

I'm considering using the Rustoleum 2 part epoxy coating and am interested in hearing anyone's experiences (good or bad) with this product.

The other one I was looking at was Home Depot's Behr product, but I saw a couple posts here expressing a lot of displeasure with that stuff.

So...have you used it? Were you happy with it? What kind of coverage did you get out of one kit?

I used Valspar from Home Depot but I think the formulation has changed. I love mine!!!

 

[rickas]

I used the Rustoleum Professional on the garage floor about a month ago. Lowes had it in a kit. 1.25 gallons of color & 1.25 gallons of hardner, a pack of color flakes, 2 small packets of citric floor etch, a roller screen & it all came in a 5 gallon bucket. I used 2 kits on my 875 sq ft floor, and had almost a half gallon left over.

I top coated with 2 kits of the Rustoleum Clear garage 2 part epoxy and used about half of the anti skid granules (?) that they supplied. Am very happy with the way it turned out. Its highly reflective, not slippery when wet and so far has proven to be pretty tough. Without the clear, the finish was very flat.

Lessons learned 1- I was not happy with the floor texture after using the citric acid etch, was gonna buy muriatic acid & re-etch, but before I did I called the Rustoleum help line. Tech was pretty adamant about NOT using the muriatic acid. He said that the concrete would etch too deeply & 1 coat would not cover well. I described the texture ( 150-200 grit sandpaper) and he said that seemed about right. I was still skeptical so he sent me 2 more packets of the etch. Re-etching didn't change the texture much. But in the end, the epoxy stuck & covered well.

2- I mixed the entire mixture at once, it took about 2 hours to do the floor & the epoxy still had plenty of pot life left in it. 75 degrees when I started actually applying epoxy & close to 90 by the time i got done.

3- Put it on pretty thick. I used a plastic backed paint roller from HD ( about $5.00 each) to apply the epoxy. BTW - No shedding at all. With each roller I covered about 5-6 sq ft of floor, this was probably too thin a coat as I had plenty left over. I did a 32 inch strip acrossed the garage & then came back in the other direction with another 32 in strip. After every 3rd roller of epoxy I spread ( tossed in the air) the flakes over what I had done. I used between 1/2 & 3/4 of the supplied flakes.

4- Clear went on easy, Mixed the anti skid in the the epoxy and applied. Must constantly stir it to keep the granules from settling out. Not applied near as thick as the color and I had just enough to finish the floor.

5- Plenty of ventilation, I had a garage door at each end open and a 24" inch fan blowing thru a side window. Both my wife & son said they could smell the fumes outside the garage.

Hope that my novella helps in some way.

 

[red vette mike]

I looked at the Rustoleum product at both Lowe's and HD. The garage kit stated that it was a '2 part' epoxy. However it went on to say that the epoxy is water based. You can clean up your utensils with warm 'soap and water'. I guess I was under the impression that the best, most durable products were solvent based.
On some of the Rustoleum boxes it stated '2 part, water based'. On some of the boxes it just stated that the epoxy was a 2 part system. However, on the side of the box it went on to say it was water based.
Any thoughts on this?
This product did not come in a 5 gallon bucket. Perhaps there is a difference?

 

[Winmon]

Rustoleum's solvent based epoxy is called "Professional EpoxyShield". My local Home Depot carries it in the 2 gallon kit (1 gal. Base and 1 gal. Activator). The solvent based stuff is suppose to be alot tougher. I used it on my floor. I was real happy with the way it went down and the coverage. I will say that you really do need to put down at least 2 coats of it. The 1st coat just does not look real great. It shows lap marks and more imperfections in the concrete surface. The second caot looks great. I will also say they have a great warranty and excellant customer service too. If you have any issues with it they will either sent you more product to fix it or give you a refund if it can't be fixed. I learned this because I am having some issues with blistering. Rustoleum had me sent them some samples of the blisters to anaylze them to find out what is causing it. They sent me a detailed report saying it is due to water vapor. I am now in the process of trying to find out WHY I am having water coming up. I have a vapor barrier under the slab and I performed 2 water tests by taping a 2x2 sheet of plastic down for 24 hrs to see if I get any water trapped under the plastic. No water was present on either of those tests. Anyway, even though it IS NOT Rustoleum's fault, they are willing to give me a refund if I have to strip it off ! Right now I am hoping that it is due to the fact I sealed the slab with a sealer right after the pour was done. I then (6 months later)had to strip the sealer off to get the epoxy to stick. So, I am thinking that maybe water that was trapped by the sealer is just now trying to escape now that the sealer is off. If so, I am going to let it do it's thing and then repair the affected areas. I sure hope I can save it!!!

 

[boiler7904]

I'm in the process of getting ready to do the floor in my new garage in a couple of weeks. The plan for now is to do the etching, scrubbing, and any repair work the weekend before labor day (allows plenty of drying/cure time), apply Rust Oleum Professional the saturday of labor day weekend and then apply clear either sunday or monday of labor day weekend. This allows me to start moving stuff into the garage permanently the weekend after labor day.

Menards is having a bag sale until this saturday where anything that fits in a standard paper bag is 17% off (don't ask me how they arrive at that number). I have two bags and need 2 of the pro kits plus a clear coat kit. Hope each fits in a bag - I'll save about $15 per kit.

I have a couple of questions for rickas (and anyone else that knows the answers):
1. Did your slab have a sealer on it before you started with the etching process? What manufacturer's etching product did you use on your floor? I know that I have to remove a sealer from mine - builder wouldn't omit it from the construction specs - his standard construction and his warranty to uphold.
2. What is the finished texture like since you put the non-slip material in the first of two clear topcoats? Is it easy to keep clean? I'm only planning one coat of clear so I'm wondering if mixing the non-slip into the color coat would give me a good balance of slip resistance and cleanability (assuming that I keep it mixed well)?
3. How long did you wait between starting the color coat and starting the first clear coat?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Tyson]

I just did the 2nd coat on my garage floor.

To clear up a couple things first.

I am using the professional solvent based.
Menards is about $10-15 cheaper BEFORE the bag sale than Home Depot.
Yes 1 pack fits in the bag, you will have to re-enter the store a few times to get all the stuff you want.

So far it looks great....The first layer that I put on I did a little thin, and also did the sprinkles just to see how many I wanted to use for the final coat....Figured the sprinkles would help build up the thickness a tad also to hide imperfections. I figured the 2nd coat would go on thick enough to smooth out the first sprinkles, I was wrong.

I have to go back to Menards tomorrow to buy some clear coat, and then I'm waiting 10 days before driving on it. I will not be using the traction compound, instead I will be laying down the rubber and short carpet commercial runners where I walk frequently. One long strip out the garage door from the house along the work benches, and one strip down each side of the cars, kindof like a marina.

If this stuff peels I'm going to be pissed. I spent 2+ days doing just prep work, and used about $80 worth of chemicals to clean the living hell out of my garage floor.

 

[red vette mike]

Can any of you folks tell me how much the Rustoleum Clear costs?
Also, is it worthwhile to add the non stick additive?
Thanks

 

[383-S-10]

~$100 get it at Garage-Toys.com I put the anti skid in, I have heard if you do not, it will be a skating rink!

 

[boiler7904]

The Rust Oleum clear was $89 per kit at Menards in Joliet, IL an hour ago.

 

[Tyson]

$89 up here too...About $100 at Home Depot.

I'm going in tonight with another 15% off bag for the clear coat.

 

[rickas]

1. Did your slab have a sealer on it before you started with the etching process?

No sealer on my slab. What I've read here, at Rustoleum & other web sites is that the sealer must come off.

What manufacturer's etching product did you use on your floor?

I used the citric acid etch that came with the Rustoleum Professional ( solvent based) kit. Its not near as aggressive as muriatic acid, but so far no problems.

.
2. What is the finished texture like since you put the non-slip material in the first of two clear topcoats? Is it easy to keep clean? I'm only planning one coat of clear so I'm wondering if mixing the non-slip into the color coat would give me a good balance of slip resistance and cleanability (assuming that I keep it mixed well)?

I'd use the anti skid in the clear top coat. The clear smooths over the edges of the colored flakes very well. I'd imagine that it would do the same to the anti-skid. I did one coat each of the color & clear. Yes you can see imperfections (with effort), but the flakes camouflage them really well.

Cleaning is easy. I've swept it a couple times, used the leaf blower a time or two and mopped it once. No real effort at all. And when wet, I didn't sense any slipping.

3. How long did you wait between starting the color coat and starting the first clear coat?

Color Sunday morning Clear Tuesday morning.

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